


Still

by romanticalgirl



Category: Hornblower (TV)
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-07
Updated: 2013-04-07
Packaged: 2017-12-07 19:45:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/752338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/romanticalgirl/pseuds/romanticalgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hush.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Still

**Author's Note:**

> It seems to me, after the response to the last ficlet, that people are missing Hornblower fic, so I have provided.
> 
> Originally posted 11-5-06

“Horatio, sit _down_.” Archie didn’t open his eyes as he spoke, knowing without looking that Horatio was standing, about to pace the floor again. He had worn a track through the dirt on the floor, the rocks worn rougher from the constant scuff of his feet. “The rain will fall as long as it will fall and all the pacing you do in this room will serve nothing more than to drive me insane, so _sit down_.” He opened his eyes and turned his gaze to his friend. “Please?”

Horatio sank down and wrapped his long fingers around the edge of the cot. He remained perfectly still save for the quiver of muscles forced to idle. His gaze darted around the room like a hummingbird and he pursed his lips, opening his mouth to say something and then shutting it with an audible snap.

Archie sighed. “Why don’t you walk around the courtyard?”

“In the rain?”

“It’s not as if you might melt, Mr. Hornblower.” Archie rubbed the back of his neck and closed his eyes again. “You’ve suffered through far worse storms on watch than this simple summer shower.”

“How can you sit so still, Archie?” Horatio got to his feet in a burst of energy, making his way across the cell to the window. “Like animals in a cage…”

“You’ll find, Horatio, that thinking you’re as good as dead makes sitting through a squall seem rather inconsequential.” He smiled to take any perceived sting from his words. “Though I believe quite firmly that you’ve never thought yourself as good as dead in any situation.”

“I thought exactly that when I first stepped foot about _Justinian_.”

Archie laughed. “Oh, Horatio, so did we all.”

Horatio reached his hand out between the bars on the window and watched as the rain settled on his hand. He stared at the drops for a moment, watching them fall onto the dry dust as he brought his hand back in the cell. “Teach me.”

Archie’s eyebrow lifted. “Teach you?”

“Yes. Teach me. To be still.”

Archie stared at him for a long moment and then let out a slow breath. “All right. Come here.”

Horatio ran his damp hand through his hair and then along the seam of his trousers, moving over to Archie’s cot and sitting on the edge of it. “How do we begin?”

Archie shook his head. “First off, Mr. Hornblower, hush.” He reached out and pressed a finger to Horatio’s lips. Archie stayed motionless, waiting until the questioning gleam died in Horatio’s eyes, until the slow curve of his smile, the threat of words faded from his lips. Archie nodded. “Hush.”

He pulled his finger away and then leaned back, watching with just the hint of a smile as Horatio stayed perfectly still for a few moments until his gaze focused on Archie, his own smile curling his lips. “Archie…”

“Oh, Horatio.” Archie’s smile widened. “You’re going to fail miserably at this if you can’t even remain silent for a few moments.” He settled back on the bed and patted the thin mattress beside him. “Think of it this way, all right? The first duty of every prisoner is to escape, true?”

Horatio shifted and leaned back against the wall, his shoulder brushing Archie’s. “True.”

“But Hunter showed us that it’s not necessarily wisest to charge in with guns blazing. Have to think a plan through first.” He ran a finger along his thigh. “And I know you think best when you’re wearing a hole in the deck, but you’re not always going to have that luxury.”

“Fair enough.”

“So you stop.”

“Stop?” Horatio turned his head and looked at Archie, confusion shadowing his eyes. “What do you mean, stop?”

“You,” Archie reached out and pressed his hand against Horatio’s knee, stilling the restless motion of his leg, “just stop.”

“I can’t _just_ stop, Archie.”

“Close your eyes.” Horatio glanced down at the hand still on his knee then back up at Archie. Archie offered him a wry grin. “Don’t you trust me, Horatio?”

“Of course I do.” Horatio held Archie’s gaze for a long moment and then slowly closed his eyes. “All right. What now?”

“So impatient.” Archie shifted slightly, his shoulder rubbing against Horatio’s. Horatio’s eyebrow lifted, but his eyes remained closed, his breath warm as it fanned between them. “Breathe.”

“Breathe.”

“It’s not an order, Mr. Hornblower,” Archie assured him with the hint of a laugh in his voice. He dropped his tone, let his voice shift to barely above a whisper. “Just breathe.”

Horatio nodded slightly, his own voice softer. “Just breathe.”

Archie watched as Horatio’s lips parted slightly, the soft exhalation of air barely there over the sound of the rain. “The only prisons in there are the ones you make yourself, Horatio. The only walls that hold you the ones you construct. In there, in the silence, in the stillness, there’s only what you make.”

“Only what I see.”

He nodded, though he knew Horatio’s eyes were closed. “And you see whatever you want, whatever you need. See solutions, see explanations, see possibilities.” He caught his breath and leaned in, tasting Horatio’s breath on the air between them. “See whatever you want.” Horatio opened his eyes slowly, long lashes shadowing his dark eyes. Archie managed a slight smile. “See what you want.”

Horatio nodded, though it had not been a question. He closed the slight distance between them, his parted lips warm on Archie’s, feathering them with a soft “Yes”.  



End file.
